Felix is shortlisted for Club of the Year at imperial College Union Awards 2015

Kunal Wagle reports on the awards night that celebrates achievements of Union clubs, societies and projects

Felix was shortlisted for Club of the Year at Monday’s Union Awards ceremony, much to the club’s delight. Sadly Felix closly missed out on taking the award home, which went instead to Islamic Society, but all were very deserved of the award.

The other shortlisted societies were A Cappella, Civil Engineering and ICTV.

The event, which was held on Monday, was opened by Joe Cooper, who is the Managing Director of Imperial College Union. The awards were presented by Deputy President (Education) Pascal Loose, Deputy President (Welfare) Chris Kaye and Deputy President (Clubs and Societies) Abi de Bruin, as well as Student Trustee John Winters, and Volunteer of the Year 2014 Michael Chung.

The award for Event of the Year was given to The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, or the ICCA’s, for their singing event earlier in the year that was attended by students from all over the country.

Gloria Rosetto won the award for the Community Connections volunteer of the year, while the CAG Soup Run won Community Connections project of the year. Speaking about her award, Rosetto said “It has been a great pleasure for me to volunteer at Imperial, and I plan to continue doing so next year.

Although volunteering itself is the greatest reward, I am glad to have received this award and I hope it will encourage more first-year students to participate in the wide variety of opportunities offered at Imperial. Beyond our studies, these experiences are also very valuable as they allow you to have a positive impact on the community and society at large.”

Jessica Wade, who won the award for Contribution to College Life, said “Winning the Imperial Contribution to College Life award meant more to me than I can express in words – I’ve been at Imperial College since 2008 and I’ve never felt as special as that. The more I get to know Imperial the more I love it and @WIP_IC is a way for me to set up a support network for all the women in the physics department so they can all like feel this.”

The Innovation and Enterprise award was given to ICTV. Pete Brook, ICTV’s Station Manager, said “So many people have put in so many hours to make ICTV what it is this year. Live show producers, directors for our shorts and all the tech people who’ve made stuff work. We are really grateful to all the people in the club and the union for all their support and hard work!”

Mechanical Engineering Academic Representative Robert O’Keeffe won the Academic Rep of the Year award. Speaking to Felix afterwards, O’Keeffe said “Having been part of the rep system for the last three years, it is great to know the work I have done has been appreciated. I would like to give a special mention to my team of Year Reps from the Mechanical Engineering Department, who have been a massive help throughout the year, I certainly wouldn’t have done it without their support, and for that I would like to thank them.”

The Postgraduate Academic Rep Team of the Year Award was presented to the Graduate Student Union’s Academic and Welfare team. A member of the GSU rep team, Mike Asavarut, said “This award represents the partnership that the GSU Academic and Welfare Officers have with the union, college and especially the Graduate School. Making representation effective is a daunting task, given the unique needs that each department and faculty have. One size does not fit all, and the GSU representation team have certainly given their best to represent the postgraduate student body at all levels.”

The undergraduate equivalent was given to the Physics department’s rep team, who have now won three times in the last five years. They said about their award “The Undergraduate Academic rep team for Physics is immensely pleased that the Union has again decided to recognise their dedication to strong student representation within the department.

“This is the third year in the past five that the Physics rep team has been given this award, which reflects the culture of strong student engagement in the undergraduate experience that is present in the student body of the department.

“We are all very pleased that the students recognise the effort that we put into ensuring that their voices are heard by the department on the issues that affect them.”

Other awards included the campaign of the year award, which was presented to Mentality, who ran a survey last month that found that three in four Imperial students suffer from stress or a mental condition.

Speaking after receiving their award for the club of the year, the Islamic society said “Muslim students are one of the most active students on campus (sic). Over 10 of our integral members were awarded colours and awards, and the Imperial Islamic Society was also awarded a national award for ‘Best Society’ by Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS). With all the things in the media, it’s important to highlight the success of Muslims and also realise that the future is brighter than ever before!”

In her blog on the Imperial College Union website, Deputy President (Clubs and Societies) Abi de Bruin said “Felix has made a significant contribution to student life, not only for those that read it but for those that create it too. Since Imperial is an all-science university, it can be difficult for people to engage with other projects, such as writing or culture and Felix has provided that outlet in an inviting atmosphere. They have also successfully covered a number of high profile issues that directly impact the student body.

“Overall it’s been an incredible year for the Union and I’m so thankful and proud of all of the students that have poured so much time and effort into making the Union so amazing. We really wouldn’t be what we are without you guys!”